Browns notes: Trent Richardson played with two broken ribs

Nobody in a different colored jersey can jump on him or punch him in a pile anymore this year, so now Trent Richardson doesn't have to hide the truth:

He played most of his rookie season with two broken ribs on the left side of his body. He still can't sleep on his back or left side. He needed help dressing and showering for a few weeks after he was injured playing against the Bengals on Oct. 14.

With all that, Richardson still rushed for 950 yards. He might have reached 1,000 yards, but he missed the last game with an ankle injury. He said trainers told him his ribs should be fine in about a month now that he isn't getting pounded.

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"I know I'll be healthy before next season, and I'll be back right in training camp and OTAs," Richardson said in the locker room Monday. "You'll see me flying around and see me back skinny man again -- I won't have that big vest on next year. I'm going to have a rib protector on, but I won't have a big vest on.

"I'll be back being the same old me and getting back to what I know -- hard-nosed football, smashmouth football. Where I come from, that's what we all (strive) for."

Richardson, who played three years at Alabama and won two national championships under Nick Saban, still says he expects Saban to stay in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide plays Notre Dame for the BCS championship next Monday.

Saban's name has been linked to the Browns for weeks. That talk is likely to heat up after Pat Shurmur was fired as head coach on Monday.

"If he was to leave Alabama, most definitely I would love for him to be here," Richardson said, "But I doubt if he would come to the NFL and to leave Alabama, I can't see him leaving.

"I doubt if I can (convince Saban to leave). When he's got his mind made up, he's got his mind made up."

Richardson said he will be in Miami for the BCS championship game on the Alabama sideline. He said he will wear his championship rings and No. 3 Crimson Tide jersey.

A vote for Kelly

Safety T.J. Ward played at Oregon under Chip Kelly and believes Kelly would be "a great" NFL coach. Kelly is 45-7 at Oregon. He runs a spread, no-huddle offense that skeptics believe will not work in the NFL.

"He's a great coach," Ward said. "You can see what he's doing at Oregon. I think he has what it takes to be successful in this league. Whoever they pick, Chip is a great option.

"He's a great motivator. He comes in and he knows what he wants to do, and he gets his players to play for him and play hard. He has a great scheme, great system. He's a high-energy coach."

Ward was a second-round pick in 2010. Team president Mike Holmgren and General Manager Tom Heckert drafted Ward. They and Shurmur have been swept out the door by new owner Jimmy Haslam III and CEO Joe Banner, leaving no one tied to Ward still around.

Ward admitted another regime change could mean another setback.

"It could," he said. "Anything is possible, but it could go to the moon, too. This is a time when you really don't know and you have to just wait and see what happens in the next few weeks and work with whoever they brining in here."

Feeling for Shurmur

Shurmur met with his players Monday morning after learning he'd been fired.

"Coach Shurmur was very emotional, and that's what I would expect from somebody that pours their heart into it," wide receiver Greg Little said. "You can almost say this is his life. This is what he wakes up to and does every day.

"He just said we didn't have the season we (wanted). He is sure we will cross paths somewhere down the road and wished us the best."